Welding bell cushion



Oct. 9, 1934. H, GROSS 1,976,555

WELDING BELL CUSHION Filed A ril 21, 193i INVENTOR ATTORNEYS PatentedOct. 9, 1934 WELDING BELL CUSHION Harry E. Gross, Wyomissing, Pat,assignor to Reading Iron Company, Beading, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania.

Application April 21, 1931', Serial No. 531,719

6 Claims. (o1-205-25) In the practice of making buttweld pipe, a bell isused for forming or bending the hot strip and welding the edges. Intheoperation of making pipe the strip is drawn thru this bell at weldingtemperature. A rigid holder is 'now used to supportthe bell during theoperation of drawing the skelp orstrip thru the bell for forming andwelding. j v

My invention consists in a cushion device as a means of supporting thebell in its operating position, insteadof the rigid block now used forthis purpose- My invention'is especially applicable in .the productionof butt or bell weld wrought iron pipe, altho I do notlimitmy inventionto'this use, as it is also applicable in the production of pipe of steelor other metals, produced bythe butt or bell weld method of manufacture.v

In the present operations, the welding bell is thrown over'tongs whichdraws the strip from the furnace thru the bell, and as'the end of thestrip strikes the bell as the strip passes out of the. furnace at a highspeed (some 320 feet per minute in the production of wrought iron' pipe,and over 400 feet per minute in the production of steel pipe), the bellis pulled against azrigid bell holder, which causes a shock or ablow,which blow in many cases tears off the end of the strip, causing furnacescrap and delays in operations.

- With my invention the bell, instead of striking a rigid block, ispulled against the face of .a.

cushion'plate which minimizes the jaraor shock,

and the number of delays in operation.

My invention also provides means for align ment of the bell to the stripin the process of forming and welding. 1

My invention further provides means of knowing the amount of pull beingapplied to the strip as it passes thru the bell in the process.

One object of my invention is to minimize the shock caused by pullingthe bell against the bell block at the initiation of the drawing period.

A further object of my invention is to provide means which allows thebell to align itself during the process of drawing the strip thru thebell.

A further object of my invention is to provide means for ascertainingwhether the diameter of the bell is properly adjusted to the width andthickness of the strip. This is provided bydetermining the position ofthe cushion plate relative to the rigid bell block.

Other objects of my'invention will be apparent,

My invention can best be described by referring to the accompanyingdrawing which form a part of this specification, and of'which Figure Iis a plan View of one embodiment of my invention in which the cushioningeffect is obtained thru the use of springsand anelastic or semi-elasticmedium operating in acylinder; FigureII is an end view of my-inventionand refers equally well to Figure I, III and IV.

Figure III is a plan View of an alternate embodiment of my invention inwhich the cushioning effect is secured-thru the operation of an elasticor semi-elastic medium in acylinderalone;

Figure IV is another alternate embodimentof my invention in. whichthetcushion'ingefiect issecured byvmeans of springs alone. g

In all the figures, like numbers refer to the same or similar parts, andreferring particularly to Figure I, the operation of my invention is asfollows. -1

Skelp or strip 1 from which the pipe is'produced is shown as beingpulled from the furnace (notshown) bythe tong 2 thru the bell 3. Themeans for pulling the tongs is not shown as any well-known method may'beused. In the figure the bell 3 is shown in the position immediatelyprior to its abutment against the removable wearing piece 5, adapted tobe attached to the striking plate 6. This striking plate 6 is supportedfrom the rigid bell holder '7.by means of the elastic devices 8, theholder '7 thus'forming a support for the striking. plate through theelastic devices. The holder 7 is preferably mounted in a housing 17 andprovided with flanges 18 received Within guide grooves 19 in thathousing, the guides thus formed being shown as extending vertically andpermitting removal of the entire unit formed of the striking plate,support, and devices, for purposes of repair or replacement. This is ofparticular advantage where it is de sired to use'another size bell forforming a'different size pipe. The grooves 19 are slightly larger thanthe flanges in the line of movement of the pipe and'thus it will be seenthat as the bell strikes the plate 6, this plate may adjust itself to aposition such that thebell edge will be parallel to the plate and bearfirmly against it, the guide grooves preventing any substantial,movement of the support lengthwise of the pipe. In other words, theplate 6 will be normal to theline of movement of the pipe. It will alsobe seen that the holder has an opening therein disposed, in line withanother opening in the striking plate; so that the tongs 2 and thewelded pipemay pass therethrough. In this figure four devices are thenattached to the strip or ske'lp l.

shown, but Ido not limit myself to four as any convenient number may beused.

As illustrated in Figure I, each of the elastic supports 8 consists ofthe cylinder 9, co-acting with a tight fitting plunger 10. A compressionspring 11 is interposed between the face of the plunger 10 and the head12 of the cylinder 9.

The pipe 13 allows fluid under any desired pressure to enter or leavethe cylinder 9. "This pipe is controlled by any suitable valve 4. Eithergaseous or liquid medium may be used as the fluid in the cylinder, andin this connection I prefer a.

.thiskind, and also as a means of returning the the use of air, but oil,water, or any other .suitable fluid may-be used.

pipe connection 13 and the valve 4 may be omitted, and in this case theair contained within the cylinder acts as a cushioning means in cooperation with the spring 11, and further, the

air under pressure in the cylinder in coeperationj Port 15,, uncoveredby the plunger 10, at its. outermostposition may be provided to renewthe air.,supply after eachoperation.

"The .operation of my invention is :as follows. The bell 3 is placedover the tongs 2 which are The tongs are .pulled by suitable mechanism,thereby drawing the strip 1 against the bell 3. On-further pulling thebell .3'w-ith' the skelp l strikes'the wearingspiece 5 of the strikingplate 6. The inertia of 1 the bell, tongs, .and'skelp, together with theforce applied to the tongs, pulls the wearing piece 5 and the strikingplate .6, as well asj-the plunger 10, in the direction of the force andthe. motion of the tongs and this movement is cylinder. The impactwillpullathe striking plate beyond the point at which it will ,bemaintained in equilibrium "by the {normal pull of the :skelp, andafterthe force of the impact has been absorbed :the' striking .plate willmove in la direction opposite to that of the -pull of the tongs and willreach a position .of more or less equilibrium at some location betweenits limits .of travel. I prefer .that the shockabsorberbe of suchproportion that, when the :bell is of proper :size :forthe Strip Ebeingformed'and welded,'the position taken by the-striking plate will :be:about midway-betweenits extreme positions. With the shock absorbersoproportioned ifithe bell is too :small for the strip, the strikingplate will :be carried forward in the direction of drawing to :a position past the midway point and if the bell is-too large, its equilibriumpoint will .be reached prior to the mid position. By observingtheposition of the bell, thestriking plate'is able to adjust itsposition with reference to the bell and to i rregularities in the strip.After the strip has passed through the bell, the force which is ex-.

. erted on the striking plate by the motion of .the

tongs will be released and'the striking plate will return to its initialposition due to the force of the'compressed spring and'the expansion ofthe" entrapped air. I find that this returnmotion is not-of such aviolent nature that cushioning is required to break-its force, but suchreturncush- When air is used as a cushioning medium the within thecylinder. shown in position against the Wearing piece 5 ion device maybe incorporated in my device under certain conditions of operation. Ifmy cushion is properly proportioned, the force of the return motion issuflicient to eject the bell 3 from the wearing piece 5 of the strikingplate 6, and it is desirable to design my cushioning device in such amanner that this ejection of the bell :occurs. 1 V

If liquid is :used as the cushioning mechanism, the port is omitted andvalve 4 serves as a constriction thru which the liquid is ejected, thusproviding the flexibility needed in a device of liquid to the system.

Figural-II :issllbstantially the same as Figure I. Howeyenjmthiscase thespring 11 has been omit- .ted, and the flexibility of the connection isobtained entirely by the elasticity of the medium In this figure thebell 3 is and the striking plate 6, and a certain amount of the strip isshown as hav'ingbeen formed and welded into pipe. 4 I 7 Figure-IV issimilar to Figure- I, except-that the cylinder 9 with the plunger 10 hasbeen omit-i ted,-and the flexibility of theconnection is ob-' tainedentirely by means'c'f the-spring; 1-1. This is the-preferred embodimentof myinv'ention. In

this figure also the hell 3 is shown in positionin,

contact with the wearing piece 5- and the-striking plate 6. Also the:nuts '16 serve as an equivalent of the s'houlder'l4 shown in Figure I.

In this form, the springs ll surround ;bolts 20 which are looselyreceived-intheholderorsupport '7, and therefore can adjust themselves toaid 1 in maintaining the-striking plate 6 normal to the line of movementof the pipe; However, even in this form, I have shown :the holde'rprovided with the loose engagement with the housing as in theother':forms.

Other modifications areapplicable to my 'invention. Foriinstance' Atension spring-properly mounted may be used inplace of 'a compressionspring, or other elastic and flexible devices and materials may beinserted between thelstriking plate and the rigid bell holder withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope .of myinvention."

What I claim is:- V I l '1. lna device for' forming pipe by drawing*skelp through a'ibell, a striking plate for the bell having an openingtherein for :thepassage of pipe therethrough, .a supportspaced-from theplate along the line :of movementof the pipe and having an openingsubstantiallytin -.line'-with'said opening in the plate, sand .at :leastthree resiliently yieldab'le V devices spacedaroundsaid openings andextend-- ing between said support and plate and support ingith'e platedirectly and solely from thesupport. -,i2."InI a -device for formingpipeby drawing 'skelp through a -hell,.a striking plate for the bell havinganopeningtherein forthe passage of pipe therethroug-h', a support spacedfrom the plate along theline of movement of the pipe and hav-' ing anopening substantially in line with said opening in theplate, and atleast-three resilientlyyieldable devices spaced around said openings andextending .betweensaid support and plate and supporting, the platedirectlyandsolely from thesupport, each of said devices being.yieldableindependently cf the 'others. I v 3. In a device 'for, formingpipe by drawing skelp through a bell, a 'strikin'gplate for thezbellhavingan opening therein for the passage of pipe therethrough, a supportspaced from the plate along the line of movement of the pipe and havingan opening substantially in line with said opening in the plate, atleast three resiliently yieldable devices spaced around said openingsand extending between said support and plate and supporting the platedirectly and solely from the support, each of said devices beingyieldable independently of the others, and means loosely engaging saidsupport to permit limited tipping thereof with respect to said line ofmovement of the pipe.

4. In a device for forming pipe by drawing skelp through a bell, astriking plate for the bell having an opening therein for the passage ofpipe therethrough, a support spaced from the plate along the line ofmovement of the pipe and having an opening substantially in line withsaid opening in the plate, and four resiliently yieldable devicesextending between said support and plate and supporting the platedirectly and solely from the support, said devices being disposed inpairs on opposite sides of said opening.

5. In a device for forming pipe by drawing skelp through a bell, astriking plate for the bell having an opening therein for the passage ofpipe therethrough, a support for said plate, means holding said supportagainst movement lengthwise of the pipe, said support being removablefrom said means by movement transversely of the pipe, and a plurality ofdevices yieldable lengthwise of the pipe and connecting the strikingplate to the support and supporting the plate directly and solely fromthe support.

6. In a device for forming pipe by drawing skelp through a bell, astriking plate for the bell having an opening therein for the passage ofpipe therethrough, a support spaced from the plate along the line ofmovement of the pipe and hav- HARRY E. GROSS.

